Carl Anthony

The Earth, the City, and the Hidden Narrative of Race by Carl Anthony is officially launched in the world today, and I am holding a copy in my hand at last. Over a period of 10+ years I collaborated with Carl to help midwife his legacy book into being, one of the most meaningful editorial projects I have worked on.

Carl is an African-American architect, regional planner, and environmental justice pioneer. A lifelong activist and an insatiable learner, he has worked full-on for change while connecting the dots of history, urban policy, cosmology, race, identity, and his unique and fascinating lived experiences. Carl has much insight to share.

Some months back as the manuscript was nearly finalized, we looked back on the book-writing journey. An edited version follows of his reflections.

Carl Anthony: Throughout my life, and in writing my book The Earth, the City, and the Hidden Narrative of Race, I have been exploring how to live and be in this ever-changing world. As an African American, I have both the benefit and the liability of being rooted in a richly layered yet challenging history, much of which has been buried from view. I have been trying to uncover that history, bring visibility to things that had been hidden, and make sense of parts of myself that had been not been within my awareness.

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